Here's my first attempt at a game development video tutorial. My plan was to record all of the steps that go into creating a simple game (for writing the code, at least). It's probably too boring to be that useful and it doesn't cover much in 15 minutes. I also sound very nasal, which could be because I was using the microphone that's built into my laptop.

I planned to add a little introduction to the beginning of the video, but it ended up being exactly 15 minutes so I didn't have room. Also, I think it's neat that it turned out to be exactly 15 minutes so I wanted to leave it alone (like when the gas pump clicks off at an even dollar amount).

The game I'm working on for the tutorial is an action/platform/racing game. The goal isn't just to complete a level, but to complete it as quickly as possible. This makes it a little more casual because it's more forgiving - when you screw up you don't die and start over, you just have to try again from where you are. It also makes an "implied" multiplayer mode because you're competing against everyone else on the high score table.

I have a feeling this would work better as a written article with embedded videos. The article would show a chunk of code, then have a 10-30 second video of what you'd see when you run the game given all the code that's been explained so far.

Edit:
Based on how this video went, I'd estimate that the next 15 minute segment would cover adding powerups, variable-height jumps, and a HUD-based clock. The 15 minute segment after that would cover adding two kinds of enemies and map creation.

It'd cover a decent amount of stuff. It's quick when you think about how long it takes to make a game, but 45 minutes is still a long video.

Lol, this is awful. I'm not one for walls of text, but I'd much rather read a text tutorial by you than watch one of these videos. I could type up a list of everything you did wrong with this video but it would be easier for you to just watch people who know how to do it pretty well already.

Check out TornadoTwins. I'm not saying you have to be as good as them, but it definitely needs to be better than it is now. If I was a new user to BYOND, there is no way I would know what was going on in this video, and more importantly, there isn't much that would make me want to keep watching it even if I did.

I have a feeling this would work better as a written article with embedded videos. The article would show a chunk of code, then have a 10-30 second video of what you'd see when you run the game given all the code that's been explained so far.

That would be the ideal usage of videos, in my opinion. Or rather, you can have a video for each feature/section, showing off how what you just implemented in code manifests in the game.

I have a feeling this would work better as a written article with embedded videos. The article would show a chunk of code, then have a 10-30 second video of what you'd see when you run the game given all the code that's been explained so far.

That would be the ideal usage of videos, in my opinion. Or rather, you can have a video for each feature/section, showing off how what you just implemented in code manifests in the game.

I second that.

I am amazed on how you code/type pretty fast. I am not able do that even with something to copy. You showed some neat stuffs as well.

Too bad, newbies won't be able to follow what you're doing. I recommend explaining not just what will happen but what does what in your code before proceeding to the next step.

The resolution should be improved. The text is barely readable. I don't mind the voice.

Heck, I thought it was really good. But you do move pretty fast; eg, the explanation about auto-generating the border icons required me to stop and review (which was kind of tricky given the screen size). You could solve this in the manner you suggested or just by providing the code at various points while you're building it.

At 480p the text should be readable. It's a little fuzzy because it was recorded at a higher resolution than that.

I like the idea of showing things happen in realtime. As boring as it'd be, in the end you'd have a playable game in 45-60 minutes. But, there are just some things I'd rather explain by showing an image or block of code. Videos would be useful for showing bits of gameplay. In a written article I can still mention how long it'd take to code something.

The quality is the least of the problems. The fact is, this isn't a tutorial - it's development with commentary. I don't feel like you explained a lot in the beginning or that you're trying to teach me how to do something. It's just a video of you making a game and talking about it as you go.

I'm not sure what your target audience is, but it better be people who already have some programming experience in DM, because those who don't are going to be lost watching this video regardless of the quality. How is a new user to development supposed to know what a mob is? Bounding box? Icons? Turfs? You didn't explain any of it - you just said that you needed to code those things.

If anything, this should labeled as an intermediate level tutorial. Having newbies watch this video will only serve to frustrate the hell out of them.

The pace might be a little slow for it, but these kinds of videos can still be useful to newbies and people who aren't familiar with BYOND. They won't magically learn how to do everything seen in the video but it will give them a good idea of what it takes to make a BYOND game. For anyone who has experience with DM and is trying to "follow along", the DM reference explains what mobs, turfs, and icons are. There are some things I'd like to explain better but I'm not sure there's time for that in the video - it's already a little long for the amount it covers.

I'm favoring using a combined text/image/video format for tutorials. The videos are good for showing gameplay when just a screenshot isn't sufficient. I do like the idea that the video is real-time and shows *exactly* what it takes to make a BYOND game. This would probably be lost in a text tutorial.

Yes, have BYOND's Chuck Norris do the voice over. This is a must have.

LordAndrew wrote:

I thought the tutorial was fine and pretty easy to follow. :O

Quality is turrible. It's okay for a first try but I can't see anything and can barely hear. And the stuff I did hear made no sense to me. I just saw him programming at the speed of light(without comments might I add) and laying down a map.

Lol, this is awful. I'm not one for walls of text, but I'd much rather read a text tutorial by you than watch one of these videos. I could type up a list of everything you did wrong with this video but it would be easier for you to just watch people who know how to do it pretty well already.

Check out TornadoTwins. I'm not saying you have to be as good as them, but it definitely needs to be better than it is now. If I was a new user to BYOND, there is no way I would know what was going on in this video, and more importantly, there isn't much that would make me want to keep watching it even if I did.